There is a long journey ahead of you, with a baby
by Angelada
Summary: "What is… that doing here?" Hiravias was the first to ask. His one good eye was wide, much like Edér's mouth. "I…" The Watcher fished for words, but none seemed appropriate. How did she explain bringing an infant along on their quest? "I… found her?" (Because we all had questions about *that* ending.)


**_Spoiler alert:_**

 ** _This spoils the end of the game (well, it contains some details about the game's final main quest), as well as the Sacrificial Bloodlines quest. I strongly advise only those that have finished the game to read this(unless you just like spoilers)._**

 _As some people know, if certain actions are taken in the game, you can get a very interesting ending, which involves a baby._

 _I myself got this ending and it just made me question what the gods was going on, and then I went and looked at the conditions for getting each ending, and it all made sense. I thought it was an amazing bit to add to the game, and this short story is the result of me not being able to help myself._

 _So, here it is:_

* * *

 _There is a long journey ahead of you, with a bab_ y.

...

...

...

It was all Lliras' fault.

Well, it was mostly his father's fault, since he was the maniac who had asked her to help him sacrifice a baby in order to steal her soul, but it was Lliras' fault for convincing her to get involved.

"Remember, even if you refuse my father, he will eventually find someone willing to do his bidding." He'd said.

What was she to do then? Leave the baby at the mercy of a man who had none? Pretend she wasn't bothered by the possibility of leaving a defenceless child to a horrible fate? Convince herself she couldn't have prevented it? Act as if the entire conversation hadn't taken place?

Unacceptable.

She might have been from people who generally worshipped Rymrgand and saw nothing wrong with the act of destruction of a soul, but she had always cared more for Hylea's appreciation of life than for the freedom of being one with the vast nothingness of the White Void. Not that what Simoc planned to do would send the baby's soul to the Void anyway.

Travelling had changed her, it seemed. It had made her soft. The years spent away from The White that Wends had made her embrace ideas and ideals outside the worship of Rymrgand and her training as a monk.

"We are taking that baby."

She hadn't meant it in any way ominously, of course; it was just that she would rather be accused of kidnapping later on, rather than leave that baby unguarded in Hearthsong. Velari did not want to know what the elder had done for Vela- it was strange to note how she and the child shared a similar name- to be alone for such a long time. From what she had heard and seen, the house Velari knew the girl to be in had been empty for almost a whole day.

With that last thought, her decision to get involved was reinforced.

No one said anything when she entered the quiet house using the rusty key Simoc had given her in case she changed her mind, everyone probably assuming she was indeed doing the elder's bidding. Finding and taking the child was easier than it ought to have been.

Velari just wasn't so sure how to proceed from there.

Taking the baby when everyone assumed she was doing so on the elder's orders was one thing, but parading around with the small orlan child was another thing entirely.

It was The Grieving Mother who saved her before panic could take over. "Allow me to shelter the child for now, Watcher." She asked calmly, in her soft voice. If anyone in the party suddenly saw her hand over the baby to a poor-looking woman who they had not noticed before, none commented on it, not that it was likely they would.

The Grieving Mother took the child and extended her spell, and soon everyone forgot they even kidnapped a baby in the first place.

Velari smiled at The Grieving Mother and thanked her as she checked their supplies one last time before heading outside.

It was truly a relief she didn't have to worry for the baby as well while she continued with her task for the day.

First, she thought with a grimace, she had some poison to acquire.

…

...

...

The problem with The Grieving Mother's abilities was that, sometimes, they were too strong.

There were weeks before Velari remembered the very precious cargo she had entrusted to the cipher on that trip to Hearthsong after yet another trip to Elms' Reach.

It was after they jumped down into The Pit that she also discovered who, in fact, had been drinking all the milk and eating all the soft food The Grieving Mother had been insisting they buy.

It was also after they jumped in The Pit that the cipher first asked if she truly thought bringing Vela with them had been the best decision they could have made.

"Wha…t?" Velari choked out, panic growing wild behind her eyes, much to the worry of all her companions.

"What… did you say?" Her chest started to rise and fall at an unnaturally quick pace, despite her efforts to control her body.

Aloth peered at her with visible alarm and worry in his eyes, his fingers twitching by his side, and she could just see Edér was a moment away from swooping in and shaking her back to the present.

When Velari turned around, baby in her arms, well… that's when the real chaos settled in.

"What is… _that_ doing here?" Hiravias was the first to ask- scream, more like it. His one good eye was wide, much like Edér's mouth. Aloth just stared, and stared, and stared some more. His jaw was so strained she worried it would break.

"I…" She fished for words, but none seemed appropriate. How exactly did one explain they forgot about the fact there was a baby with them? How did she explain how they failed to notice it?

"I… found her?"

Edér snorted, rather loudly, and gave her a look. "Right. She just happened to fall in your lap."

"Yes-" She said— far too loud and quickly. "-I mean no! I mean…"

"Isn't that the baby that elder wanted us to take to the Blood Sands?" Aloth supplied, his voice rather faint.

Well, at least she wasn't the only one having a hard time believing their new situation.

Velari hung her head, guilt obvious in her posture. "Yes, the very same." She admitted. "I… might have forgotten to give her back after we helped Lliras."

"Forgot?" Aloth's voice was tight and strange as he obviously tried to contain Iselmyr. "How exactly did you forget?"

Velari winced, cradling the baby closer instinctively, and from the corner of her eye The Grieving Mother gave her a worried look.

"Watcher… is everything alright?"

"Fine." She whispered faintly. "Just fine."

"Fine? Well, I'll be damned. How's anything fine?"

"No, I wasn't talking to you-"

"Watcher-"

"I swear, this is not-"

"AHhH!"

Vela's sharp screams cut off all and any conversation, and the party took one moment to give each other wary looks while the orlan baby cried.

"I think…" Hiravias started cautiously. "I think the beast is hungry."

Another pause followed, filled only by the child's cries and the winds gusting outside, over their heads, around the mouth of the pit they could barely make out from the bottom. The few rays of sunlight that reached them seemed only to reinforce the reality of their dead-end situation.

"Eothas prevent us…" Edér breathed under his breath, before looking at the Watcher, pale even for a Pale elf. "I'm not doing that." He stated, but sat down to search their provisions for milk.

Velari tugged her lips upwards, in what she meant as a reassuring smile, with dubious results.…

...

...

...

 _A long journey loomed ahead, made no easier by your decision to bring an infant to Sun in Shadow._

* * *

 _Yes, because what could go wrong? *laughs*_

 _Thank you for reading!_


End file.
